The High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community has overturned parts of Orihuela City Council’s 2024 budget following a legal challenge by the Ciudadanos party.
The ruling affects funding allocated to municipal staff salaries and additional payments made to some employees according to the responsibilities and conditions of their jobs.
Ciudadanos spokesperson José Aix claims the PP-Vox council budgeted up to €3.7 million more than legally permitted. This allegedly included €1.4 million in salary expenditure and €2.3 million in specific staff allowances.
Ciudadanos challenged the budget shortly after it was approved in 2024. The party had previously warned that the proposed spending exceeded legal limits but claimed its objections were ignored by the governing parties.
The court has now partially upheld the appeal and annulled the affected sections of the budget. However, the ruling may have little immediate practical effect because the 2024 financial year has already ended and the money may already have been spent.
Ciudadanos will now demand a detailed audit to establish how much was actually paid through the disputed budget items. Aix said that if the full amount was spent unlawfully, the PP and Vox councillors who approved the budget should be held financially responsible and required to reimburse the council.
The opposition party is also considering further legal action, although it acknowledges that it is impossible to reverse a budget that has already been fully implemented.
Aix said the ruling showed a serious lack of care in the preparation and management of the council’s finances. He also called for the resignation of the councillor responsible for finance, a position held by Orihuela Mayor Pepe Vegara.
Ciudadanos claims similar problems have appeared in later municipal budgets and says it will examine whether further challenges are necessary.
It is not yet clear whether Orihuela City Council will appeal the ruling to Spain’s Supreme Court. The PP-Vox government has also not yet confirmed whether any of the disputed spending limits were exceeded when the 2024 budget was put into practice.
